Why I Oughta...

On my walk back to the train at Union Station, I wandered through the riverwalk plaza at Riverside Plaza.  There are a pair of companion buildings at 10 and 120 S. Riverside Plaza that have been going through a renovation of both their interiors (I think) and their exterior/outside plaza spaces .  The riverwalk portion appears to have wrapped up last Fall and was planted before Winter.   The space is a series of linear, raised beds.  And certainly feels like they've taken some inspiration from places like the Highline - that have a more linear nature.   The beds don't have any trees (unlike the Highline), but are multi-level raised beds full of perennials.  I'm pretty sure this area gets full mid-day sun, but due to the tall buildings all around, is probably in the shade in the morning and later in the afternoon. What jumped out to me this week were the dormant grasses in the bed.  There were A LOT of them.  Planted in a mass.  And....

I've done a few of these [view from my office] posts since we were all sent home at the beginning of COVID that were from my front porch and (even) an airplane .  But, it has been since mid-March when I was last in an office for work.  In that airplane post , I mentioned that we're moving offices - out of the Aon Center - and into a 'west of the river' mid-rise.  Over the past few weeks, I've visited a few times and am busy getting situated in the new setting.  The view?  Quite a downgrade.  The commute? Quite an upgrade.  From a 20-25 minute walk across the Loop to a four minute walk from where I emerged from under Union Station.   Having been in the office a few days, I'll say:  I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed being here.  I really still do NOT know what I'm using office days for in terms of work (we're a hybrid team now, so have a mix of WFH and office days), but I'm glad I've come downtown to give it a shot.   ...